A conventional selective call device, e.g., a receiver and/or transmitter, often can receive messages from more than one sources. Sources are distinguished from each other typically by an address information associated with each message. When the address information correlates, or matches, a predetermined address in the selective call device, the selective call device receives and stores the message from a particular information source.
Modern selective call services or service providers are capable of sending multiple types of data including information services, for example, stock market, weather, sports, news or other information, periodically to a subscribing selective call device (receiver or transceiver). Before long, hundreds of information services are likely to be broadcast to selective call devices. With this rapid expansion, the number of available information services will easily exceed the amount of information a selective call device can easily receive or search through for locating the information to which it has subscribed to before destroying (depleting or reducing) the battery life of the selective call device.
Thus, what is needed is a method enabling the selective call device to quickly determine when information services being received are not intended for the selective call device for preserving battery life.